A discharge petition for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) being pushed by Rep. Jared Polis has the support of 75 of 218 lawmakers it needs to succeed, the Washington Blade reports.
The petition has no Republican support so far, even from GOP lawmakers who went so far as to co-sponsor the original bill:
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), an original co-sponsor of ENDA, has already vowed not to sign a discharge petition, saying through a spokesperson it's a “partisan political tool.”
But Polis took Republican supporters of ENDA to task, saying it's time “to throw down the gauntlet” because co-sponsoring the legislation isn't enough.
Still, the bill, which has a narrowed religious exemption, faces challenges even if passed by the House, the Blade adds:
Even if the House were to succeed in passing ENDA with a narrower discharge petition, the chances of passing a version of the bill in the Senate with that language would be complicated. Still, Polis expressed confidence the upper chamber of Congress would pass the bill if the discharge petition were successful.
“The previous incarnation of ENDA was in the pre-Hobby Lobby era,” Polis said. “I'm confident that if this is brought to the House floor and passes, the Senate will be able to expeditiously act on this bill and sent it to the president's desk.”
The Blade reports that Dems are "bullish" on its prospects. At least one pundit is skeptical:
“Bullish” — or a little bullshit? No GOPers signing it —> House Dems bullish on ENDA discharge petition https://t.co/cEQpZuCErK
— Mike Signorile (@MSignorile) September 18, 2014
